Rumors about a Tortuga restaurant continue
Screamscape.com is still on to the rumor that Walt Disney World will be adding a Pirates of the Caribbean themed restaurant to Adventureland at the Magic Kingdom. It’s described as an attempt to continue the Pirates and Princesses theme that has seemed to surround everything at the Disney Parks.
The latest rumors about the Pirate themed restaurant confirm that it is being planned for the old Veranda restaurant site across from the Swiss Family Treehouse and the working name is Tortuga. Going along with all the Pirate and Princess buzz this year, it seems Disney management has realized that while they have the Royal Court dining area in the castle to appeal to the Princess crowd, they need a good Pirate themed restaurant to lure in the boys.
There is good and bad to this idea. The good is that the Magic Kingdom is desperate for decent sit-down dining options. What is there now is sorely lacking in quality and choice. Adding a well-themed restaurant is a potentially terrific new experience, and one that will improve the overall quality of a day at the Magic Kingdom.
The bad is that this does not sound like a well-themed sit-down restaurant with great food options. If this is geared towards young boys, it sounds like another place to buy chicken strips and hotdogs. I hope I am wrong about this, because a Tortuga-themed restaurant has loads of potential.
Am I the only one who thinks Tortuga may not be the greatest thing for a kid-friendly restaurant?
Eric said,
May 2, 2007 @ 8:35 pm
Wonder why they decided not to simply leave El Piratat y el Perrico open on a permanent basis? Being right across from POTC, it would seem to be the better location to me.
And no more chicken fingers and burgers!!
Tortuga Restaurant at Walt Disney World? « Broke Hoedown said,
May 2, 2007 @ 9:21 pm
[...] 2nd, 2007 MouseExtra points us to a Screamscape post about a possible Tortuga-themed restaurant at Walt Disney [...]
Jeff Pepper said,
May 2, 2007 @ 11:14 pm
I think you may reading more into the “Pirate and Princess” influence than is actually there. I think a pirate themed restaurant would be marketed across the board and not specifically directed at the young boys demographic.
As for the tastes of young boys–my two sons(9&13) enjoy places like Boma, Ohana, and Japan more so than any burgers and chicken fingers you could throw at them!
David said,
May 3, 2007 @ 12:36 am
Jeff, I think it is important to mention that I am only interpreting nothing more than a rumor. It’s not that I don’t like the idea, but I don’t like what it may turn into. But I have no reason to believe it will go this way.
But I still find it strange to use Tortuga as the theme for a place at MK. The theme lends itself to a DTD place. What it Tortuga without the drinking? Certainly not the Tortuga of the films…
Mike said,
May 3, 2007 @ 1:36 am
I say we get liquored up at the MK!
Raidermatt said,
May 3, 2007 @ 7:46 am
I’m with David… when I hear Tortuga I don’t exactly think MK restaurant. But if wenching is going to be included, maybe it could work.
Really though, Tortuga may just be a working name. If it is Tortuga, I’m sure they’ll find a way to take the truly bad stuff out. My real concerns are again, similar to David’s. What exactly will they be trying to accomplish? While I don’t have reason to think it will be lower quality establishment that relies on theme and characters, I also don’t yet have reason to think it won’t. I love Liberty Tree Tavern, for example, but I can’t objectively look at the place and say they are making any kind of real effort with the food.
I think the idea has a lot of potential, but I’m going to have to wait and see before I get too fired up over it, if indeed it does turn out to be something they are even going to do.
Matt said,
May 3, 2007 @ 12:57 pm
Putting the fact that the info comes from Screamscape (less than “bullet proof” to say the least), I think the idea has merit because I think we all agree MK needs more full service restaurants, however, what irks me is the pirates theme. Frankly, it’s starting to get over-done. This follows the precedent Stitch set before it; plaster everything with the theme to the point of nausea and we really are reaching the saturation point.
I agree with Jeff about this being a boys issue. Like Stitch, Disney has been trying to figure out a way to REALLY appeal to young boys. Treasure Planet, Cars, Atlantis and (to a lesser extent) Stitch all tried to give boys a good reason to want to embrace Disney but they really failed. Toy Story and the Incredibles made some in-roads, but Disney wanted the male equivalent to Snow White or Beauty and the Beast; a film that would really hit home with boys and would cause them to want to buy up merchandise galore. Pirates clearly worked and now Disney is trying to milk every last penny out of the franchise because it has boy appeal and so I think until boys either get sick of it or something better comes along, we’re going to be inundated with Pirates themed restaurants, attractions, stores (insert Spaceballs joke here) for the foreseeable future.
Raidermatt said,
May 3, 2007 @ 2:40 pm
Good points, Matt, especially the Stitch parallels.
In a vacuum, it’s a strong idea. I think it would have been a strong idea before the movies ever came out. But taken with everything else it is getting to be overkill, but nothing we shouldn’t expect as long as Disney considers the iron hot.
Mike said,
May 3, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
I don’t mind the pirates idea. They are trying to find a “princess” equilavent. Pirates is a good start. They should try more Star Wars stuff.
I just hope the place is interesting in decor and decent in food and I’ll be OK.
I used to like the LTT but they ruined that by going “family style”. That used to have a decent menu. Here’s hoping its like the old days. What re the chances we get “tame” caribbean food